


A Quiet Moment

by talesofsymphoniac



Category: Tales of Graces, Tales of Series
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Richass Week 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-24 17:48:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7517578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talesofsymphoniac/pseuds/talesofsymphoniac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Richard visits Sophie and Asbel in Lhant, and the three of them find themselves reading one of Richard's childhood novels.</p><p>Written for Day One of Richass Week 2016: Peace/Serenity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Quiet Moment

Asbel hadn’t expected to fall asleep at his desk, especially not on a day when Richard was visiting from Barona. He’d been anticipating Richard’s visit for weeks now, and what was one all-nighter compared to an entire weekend off to catch up with his old friend?

Evidently, however, he’d miscalculated and fallen asleep right on top of the papers he was supposed to be reading. He made a face. His attempts to dab his drool from the topmost document had succeeded only in smearing the text.

It was at that moment that he heard the murmurs of a deep voice from down the hall. He perked up, stood, and quickly made his way past the grand staircase and towards Sophie’s room. For the first time, he noticed how late it was; the light shining through the windows was the ruby red of sunset, and that meant the voice’s owner could only be Richard. He must have arrived without Asbel even waking up.

Asbel followed the voice to Sophie’s open door, now sure it could be no one but Richard. He peeked in Sophie’s room, greeted with the sight of Richard and Sophie, sitting comfortably on the loveseat Sophie had tucked next to the window. Richard was reading aloud from a book, and Sophie was leaning against his shoulder, the better to see the pages.

_“‘Prepare to die!’ the unknown girl said, and ran straight for the heroes, her weapons raised. Startled, the Chosen took a step back and found herself stumbling over a strange object sticking out of the ground.”_

“Well, you two look cosy,” Asbel interrupted, stepping inside. Richard stopped reading mid-sentence.

“There you are, Asbel,” he said with a smile. “Did you have a good nap?”

Asbel ran a self-conscious hand through his hair, feeling his face redden. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep like that. I was trying to get some work done before you got here. Guess that plan backfired. Sorry about that.”

Richard shook his head. “Not at all. I can relate.” Asbel, who had noticed Richard’s exhaustion on days he came to visit Barona, accepted that as fact. “Sophie and I decided we’d have to find some way to amuse ourselves without you.”

Sophie sat up. “Does this mean we have to stop reading now?” She looked disappointed. Judging from the captivated way she had been staring at the book, Asbel deduced she’d been following along as Richard read aloud. This struck him as a very good thing: Since Sophie had moved in to Lhant manor, he, Kerri, and Cheria had encouraged her to expand her knowledge. It was slow going at times. As Protos-Heis, she’d hardly had any use for many things that Ephineans considered common knowledge. She had great tutors, a natural affinity for certain subjects, like math, and a great deal of curiosity and engagement. Reading and writing, however, weren’t coming as easily.

“Not at all,” he replied, feeling encouraged. “What book is it, anyway?”

“One of my favorite stories when I was a child,” Richard answered.

Asbel examined the front cover. “Oh? I don’t think I’ve read that one. I think Hubert did, though. Or maybe that was the one with all of the clones…”

“You should come read with us, Asbel!” Sophie said, scooting to give him room on the loveseat. “Richard, you should move so that Asbel can sit there.” She pointed to Richard’s other side; clearly she wanted Richard in the middle so she could keep following along.

Richard obliged, making room for Asbel. “Thanks,” he said, taking his seat. There wasn’t a lot of room, with three of them sharing the seat. He did his best to give Richard space, something Sophie noticed with a frown.

“You have to get close so you can see the pictures,” she informed him. Asbel glanced at the book Richard held. Sure enough, there was a small picture of a young girl falling backwards as an assassin charged her.

“Oh… Alright,” Asbel said, shifting closer. Looking satisfied, Sophie nudged Richard, prompting him to continue the story.

Richard cleared his throat and did just that. Asbel did his best to listen closely, but he was still tired, and his mind almost immediately began wandering. Listening to Richard’s voice, taking in the faint smell of his shampoo, and feeling the way their legs were now touching was so much simpler than interpreting the soothing sounds into anything of meaning.

_“‘Oops!’ She cried, and suddenly the assassin fell down a hole that certainly hadn’t been there a moment before. The Chosen looked down and realized the mystery object she’d tripped over was a switch, which must have opened the trapdoor.'"_

Richard’s voice was so calm and familiar, and if he let himself, Asbel was sure he could drift off again, his head resting against Richard’s shoulder, closer to that soft hair and sweet aroma… Suddenly, Asbel caught himself, and, determined to redirect his focus, found himself interrupting again. “She tripped over a switch to activate a trapdoor? That seems like a big coincidence.”

“She’s clumsy, but lucky!” Sophie said with enthusiasm.

 Richard went on reading, and Asbel was able to keep his attention in the right place, for the most part. Despite his exhaustion, it really was nice to do something like this with Richard and Sophie, something so normal. Part of Asbel wished it could be like this all the time. Still, moments like this didn’t last forever; it would be best to enjoy them while he had them, so he put that thought out of his mind and went back to following the story.

 _“She held a hand to her heart. ‘Do you think that girl is okay?’ She leaned over the hole, but could see nothing but darkness. ‘I didn’t mean for her to fall!’”_ Asbel certainly wasn’t going to fall asleep again, but his head was feeling a bit heavy. Surely Richard wouldn’t mind if he took a leaf from Sophie’s book and leaned against him, just a little bit…

When Asbel rested his head on Richard’s shoulder, Richard stumbled for the tiniest second, but kept on as if nothing had happened. _“‘She should be fine,’ the young mage said, performing some quick calculations. ‘We’d better keep going before she finds us again.’”_

Asbel found this position was quite comfortable, and Richard didn’t seem to have any objections. He read until the sun had long finished setting, and if either Asbel or Richard noticed that Sophie had fallen asleep somewhere in the last chapter, neither of them drew attention to it. There was no harm, after all, in wanting to preserve this moment just a little longer...


End file.
